United Arab Emirates – Dubai 18th November 2015: Under the frame of its public health policy that aims to enhance awareness towards healthy lifestyle approaches, including natural birth, Al Zahra Hospital has announced the inauguration of the first water birth department in the emirate. This step comes in response to women’s needs and their birth choices both at the regional and global levels.
The world is currently experiencing a powerful return of water birth due to its positive healthy impacts on both the mother and the child. As a global medical destination, Dubai has recently witnessed a high turnout for water birth, where a call for using this technique has widely emerged, aiming to reduce cesarean sections and alleviate labor pains. Studies conducted in this field have shown that water birth reduces labor pain by 60%-70%.
Dr. Yamini Dhar, Head of Obstetrics and Gynecology department in Al Zahra Hospital, praised this approach saying that despite water birth is still at an infancy stage in UAE, it will have a prosperous future due to many medical considerations including: high reduction in birth labor, where partial anesthetic will no longer be necessary or might be used in a limited amount,  if required. In  addition,  the mother  gets to experience a new exciting way of delivery that psychologically makes her feel better, since water birth provides an easy delivery process. Dhar has also pointed out that the hospital seeks to provide state of the art equipment used to perform this procedure as well as employing confident midwifery staff and doctors who can respect women’s choice and allow labor to progress at its own pace without active intervention when all aspects present low risk.
Women choose water birth as it reduces in some women the need for opioid and regional analgesia and gives them the freedom to adopt the birth position of their choice. Water supports 70% of their body weight and therefore provides a great natural option for laboring women. It reduces the pressure on her stomach and back, giving her a sense of relaxation, and thus dispenses most of the drugs given to her during cesarean sections and natural birth.
The water birth unit at Al Zahra Hospital Dubai provides an excellent environment for the mother and the staff assisting her. Its water pool is equipped with a cutting-edge technology including a built in Bluetooth and lighting system designed to create the ideal mood for a smooth birth. It offers a very calming atmosphere with positive and motivational quotes, stools, ropes and birthing balls to facilitate the entire procedure.
The water birth procedure has preconditions that have to be met before the medical team can agree to go with this option for the delivery. These preconditions state that the mother should be between the ages of 17-35 with a normal full-term pregnancy and she should have no history of gynecological complications in order to avoid any potential distress to the baby.
The enormous benefits of water birth make it an ideal choice for an easy, natural and painless delivery. However, it still needs some cautiousness, not saying risks, because we at Al Zahra Hospital make sure to meet all conditions that ensure a successful delivery, by studying the medical history of the pregnant woman, and make sure that the water birth option will not have any medical complications.
The medical staff in the water birth department is highly aware of the pregnant women concerns, and therefore they make sure to practice before the delivery operation to be able to provide the highest levels of comfort and psychological stability for them and to achieve a safe and healthy delivery operation.
